Tube removing mechanism



Feb. 21, 1950 G. G. SCHNEIDER TUBEVREMOVING MECHANISM Original FiledFeb. 1'7, 1945 IN V EN TOR. GERHARD GUNTHEE SCHNEIDER Patented Feb. 21,1950 I ssi neratio O ange; v

adiq v terans eerr tiee ei flclelaware Substituted forahandonediapplication Serial No.

578,484, Eehmiar .5-

im l c tio 15 Glaims.

In t e manuf ur e adio leetrcn ubeeiit is necessary with certain tubes,before the tube is finished, to xhaust h eas s hereirqm- Be thispurpose, a hollow glass rod, commonly called an exhaust b is rm d,integr W ththe base of the electron tube and.communicates with theinterior thereof. Through the. exhaust tub he gases are withdrawn fromthe electrontube tocreate a vacuum therein. After the gases, arewithdrawn or exhausted, the exhaust tube. is sealed and severed adjacentthebase. oi thevac: uum tube, These operations are-periorrned. me:chanically on machines, d signed for thelpurpose, that are common andwell known in 'thejart. During these operations, the exhaust tube. ex.-tends into a compression chuck and upon, severance from the vacuum tube,the exhaust tube must be r o d om. he huck It 15 0 the removal f th se eed xh us t beha h invention relates.

Heretofore, and prior to the invention herein disclosed, mechanical tubepullershavebeen used for removing the severed exhaust tube. Theseinclude mechanical. grippers whichgrip the exhaust tube and raise it outof the chuck. 'Ithas been found to be difficult to control-the tensionand slippage of such mechanical grippers with the result that at timesth exhaust tube is not removed from the chuck or is broken in'theprocess. the exhaust port of the chuck'clogs the port and oil trapsand-increases thedead or non-productive time of the machine.

An object of this invention is to providean exhaust tube removingmechanismwhich doesinot depend upon mechanical grippers for removin thetube. Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of thiskind that removes the exhaust tube by the application, of air underpressure. A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism ofthis kind thatremoves, in addition to the exhaust. tubenany pareticles-of glass that may have fallen in the chuok when the exhaust tubeis severed.

In the latter case, the broken glass over '2, s. il u a ed, in he hw-irew er ie lazlv nee machines. Thisis,theuseftowhich the inv ea e e ee en ut seiull em WHL however, e p are t f m. h l win il scriptionof themechanism, so vapplied, that 211,? inv nti amev w be nzelie e he 1 s Inh RCeS lW-e d Hum e n-iachines there is a horizontal dial l which is oatable ebeut e en ieel he e eeej ure tv Q mpr si n e lssz. s te en oneand twentyefou'r ontheother. Thedials are actuated step by step to indexthe, e ee ullv ee eadi g.- nes en. r u h ev position svto the position(shown in thl drawing) in whi ht e ex us tub remov e 1. 15 2-v Eeeh h k,es'the hu k}? vided withra vertical opening} in which thee? we ub s eceed- Thi Opening l t wit en. exhau t. t wh h is eenne t di n ce ainindesem ti e e ih die We tet PW P: he-mac. s lead b'v lefe nelth' exha s ubein a check. a d he. en-mov from, pesi ien e es t ee the ele t i beisexhauste thr u h the exh u t t e an t haust tube is severed adjacent theelectron tube. The, chuck is then carried by vthe. dial to the, p95;- 21r ve l d: exhet t' e th eh elseon w ieh pesitien h ek'e 'eih 'BEQVQ .W p%qi P-$i?i? n theeeeemeenv e dre -ins t c ucks-is nast e i wh n th exhae mo ed The me anism f' i nve tion p e r e eiv a tach d t h w bel 1 achuck is broughtinto. this pos'itionit maybe moved manual -er evvmetiewli. r e a the lat er Im e a i e pes ie t s ion hown -drevine- The e i f the c eniem t uch a m h ne an t act ation fr inoperative tooperative position are considered to be,

The foregoing objects and certain advantages w that will hereinafterappear are, realizedniingthe embodiment of the invention illustratedin-,-the drawing, as an example ofthe bestme thod applying theinvention, and described in, det 1 be.-

l-ow, from which description 9, clearer understandexhaust tube.

'ture and through the fixture.

external diameter of the exhaust tube to be removed, such as the tube II]. The portion 8 of the inner element constitutes an extension from theportion 1 of substantially smaller external diameter and forms the innerwall of an annular air passage II. The free end of the portion 8 isflared outwardly as at I2.

The outer element 6 of the fixture includes a portion I3 that surroundsthe portion I of the inner element, making a substantially air tight fittherewith. The two elements are adjustable, longitudinally, and aresecured together in adjusted position by a set screw I4. The, portion I3of the element 6 extends slightly beyond the lower end of the portion 1of the inner element 5. A thin walled portion I5of the element 6 extendsfrom the portion l3 and is provided with an inwardly extending end wallI6. This thin walled portion constitutes the outer wall of the airpassage II. The inner surface of the end wall IB is somewhatfrustro-conical, as shown, and forms with the fiared end I2 of theportion 8 of the inner element 5, a circular air blast passage I'Iinclined to the axis of the fixture and directed into the axial openingtherethrough in a direction such that upon the flow of air underpressure a force is created on the tube II] in a direction to lift thetube out of the chuck 2. In addition, the air blast through the passage1 creates a suction below the fixture which removes any particles withinthe chuck. The velocity, fora given air pressure, of the air through thepassage ll may be regulated by varying the passage. tive longitudinaladjustment of the inner and outer elements 5 and 6.

The wall of the portion I3 of the outer element is drilled and tapped atl8 to provide a connection for an air pipe I9. This pipe is connectedthrough a control valve 20 to a source of air under pressure representedby a pipe 2 I. The

valve 20 is of the type that is spring pressed to stem 22, engages a cam23 mounted on a shaft 24 that is rotated in timed relation with respect"to the operation of the machine. In this way, the valve is periodicallyopened when the air chuck or fixture 4 is in operative position over anAir thus passes through the air passage II, the blast passage I1 andaxially through the fixture in a direction away from the chuck 2. Thesuction created below the blast passage removes any particles in thechuck 2 and they are carried into the air stream in the fix- The upperend of the fixture 4 extends into the end of a curved duct or conduit 25through which the tube and particles are delivered to a waste receptacle(not shown). The radius of curvature of the duct is such, in accordancewith its inner diameter and the dimensions of the exhaust tubes to beremoved, that the removed exhaust tube may readily be carried around thecurve. The duct is curved through one hundred and eighty degrees. Theair blast carries the rethe waste receptacle.

From the foregoing description of the embodiment of the inventionillustrated in the drawings and described in detail above, it will beapparent "to those skilled in the art that by the invention I This isaccomplished by rela- 4 there is provided a mechanism for conveying rodsand particles, a mechanism which effectively removes a rod from a holderand cleans the holder of any particles, and that is especially suitablefor removing fragile rods such as the exhaust tubes severed fromelectron tubes.

It will be obvious that various changes may be made by those skilled inthe art in the details of the mechanism illustrated in the drawing anddescribed above within the principle and scope of the invention asexpressed in the appended claims.

This application is a substitute for abandoned application Serial No.578,484, filed February 17, 1945.

What is claimed is:

1. A mechanism for withdrawing a rod from a holder which mechanismcomprises in combination a source of air under pressure, an air fixturehaving a jet for acting upon the rod, and a connection between saidsource of air under pressure and said fixture including means forcontrolling the supply of air to said fixture.

2. A mechanism for withdrawing a rod from a holder which mechanismcomprises in combination a source of air under pressure, an air fixturehaving a jet for acting upon the rod, a connection between the source ofair under pressure and said fixture including means for controlling thesupply of air to said fixture, and means for directing the course of arod removed from the holder.

3. A mechanism for withdrawing a rod from a holder, which mechanismcomprises in combination a fixture adapted to receive the rod, thefixture having air passages therein directed to effect a stream of airalong the rod and in a direction to remove the rod from the holder.

4. A mechanism for withdrawing a rod from a holder, which mechanismcomprises in combination a fixture adapted to receive a portion of therod, the fixture having air passages arranged to direct a stream of airalong the surface of the rod to exert a force on the rod in a directionto withdraw the rod from the holder.

5. A mechanism for withdrawing a rod from a holder, which mechanismcomprises in combination a fixture adapted to receive a portion of therod, the fixture having air passages arranged to direct a stream of airalong the surface of the rod to exert a force on the r d in a directionto withdraw the rod from a holder, and means associated with saidfixture for di recting the course of a rod removed from the holder.

6. A mechanism for Withdrawing a rod from a holder, which mechanismcomprises in combination a fixture adapted to receive a portion of therod, the fixturehaving air passages arranged to direct a stream of airalong the rod and create a suction below the fixture, and meansassociated with the fixture for directing the course of a rod and anyparticles removed from the holder. v

'7. In a machine for exhausting glass containers through an exhausttube, mechanism for removing the exhaust tube from a holder whichmechanism comprises in combination a fixture adapted to receive aportion of the exhaust tube, the fixture having air passages thereindirected to efiect a stream of air along the exhaust tube and in adirection to remove the exhaust tube from the holder.

8. In a machine for exhausting glass containers through an exhaust tube,mechanism for removing the exhaust tube from a holder which mechanismcomprises in combination a fixture adapted to receive a portion of theexhaust tube, the fixture having air passages arranged to direct astream of air along the surface of the exhaust tube to exert a force onthe rod in'a direction to withdraw the exhaust tube from the holder. 9.In a machine for exhausting glass containers through an exhaust tube,mechanism for removing the exhaust tube which mechanism comprises incombination a fixture adapted to receive a portion of the exhaust tube,the fixture having air passages arranged to direct a stream of air alongthe surface of the rod to exert a force on the exhaust tube in adirection to withdraw the exhaust tube from a holder, and meansassociated with said fixture for directing the course of an exhaust tuberemoved from the holder.

10. In a machine for exhausting glass containers through an exhausttube, mechanism for removing the exhaust tube which mechanism comprisesin combination a fixture adapted to receive a portion of the exhausttube, the fixture having air passages arranged to direct a stream of airalong the exhaust tube and create a suction below the fixture, and meansassociated with the fixture for directin the course of an exhaust tubeand any particles removed from the holder.

11. In a machine for exhausting electron tubes through an exhaust tubeheld in a chuck, mechanism for removing a severed exhaust tubecomprising in combination a fixture having a central openingtherethrough adapted to receive a portion of the severed exhaust tube,air passages directed into the central opening and in a direction toexert a force on the tube to remove the tube from the chuck, and meansfor directing the course of an exhaust tube removed from the chuck.

12. In a machine for exhausting electron tubes through an exhaust tubeheld in a chuck, mechanism for removing a severed exhaust tube from thechuck, which mechanism comprises in combination a fixture having acentral passage therethrough adapted to receive a portion of a tube heldby a chuck, air passages directed into the central passage in adirection to exert a force on the tube to remove the tube from thechuck, a source of air under pressure connected to said air passages,and means intermediate said source of air under pressure and said airpassages of said fixture for controlling communication therebetween.

13. In a machine for exhausting electron tubes through an exhaust tubeheld in a chuck, mechanism for removing a severed exhaust tube from thechuck, which mechanism comprises in combination a fixture having acentral passage therethrough adapted to receive a portion of a tube heldby a chuck, air passages directed into the central passage in adirection to exert a force on the tube to remove the tube from thechuck, a source of air under pressure connected to said air passages,and means intermediate said source of air under pressure and the airpassages of said fixture for controlling communication therebetween, andmeans for directing the course of an exhaust tube removed from thechuck.

14. In a machine for exhausting electron tubes through an exhaust tubeheld in a chuck, mechanism for removing a severed exhaust tube from thechuck, which mechanism comprises in combination a fixture having acentral passage therethrough adapted to receive a portion of a tube heldby a chuck, air passages directed into the central passage in adirection to exert a force on th tube to remove the tube from the chuck,a source of air under pressure connected to said air passages, and meansintermediate said source of air under pressure and the air passages ofsaid fixture for controlling communication therebetween, and means fordirecting the course of an exhaust tube removed from the chuckconsisiting of a conduit having one end thereof arranged to communicatewith the central passage through said fixture.

15. In a machine for exhausting electron tubes having a chuck forreceiving the end of an exhaust tube on an electron tube, mechanism forremoving a severed exhaust tube from the chuck and particles thereofwithin the chuck which mechanism includes a fixture having a centralpassage therethrough adapted to receive a portion of the severed exhausttube and adapted to be positioned adjacent the chuck, air passages inthe fixture including passages directed into the central passage in adirection away from the chuck, whereby upon the delivery of air underpressure to the fixture the exhaust tube is removed from the chuck and asuction is created in the chuck which removes any particles therein, andmeans for directing the course of an exhaust tube and the particlesremoved from the chuck.

GERI-IARD GUNTHER SCHNEIDER.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Ledig et al. Aug. 30,1927 Number

